TCA welcomes new National Reconstruction Fund

The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has welcomed the passage of the legislation to establish the National Reconstruction Fund.

TCA CEO Kate Pounder said Australia’s technology sector believes the federal government has a key role to play in providing capital for long-term strategic investments in emerging technologies and industries.

“This is a long-term, landmark investment that will help build Australia’s tech industries in strategically important areas like quantum, AI, robotics and cybersecurity,” she said.

“The $15 billion investment in Australia’s industrial and technological capabilities has only become more important as we face global economic headwinds and continued geopolitical uncertainty.”

Pounder noted that emerging industries and technologies have always been funded by a mix of private and public capital, and said that by co-investing with the private sector, the fund will help support the growth of technology companies in areas where Australia has a competitive advantage.

“Importantly, we hope the NRF can deliver economic opportunity in tech for all parts of the country, from our capital cities to our regional and rural communities,” she said.

“We know from some of our country’s most successful tech companies that good ideas are not confined by geography — from Townsville to Tasmania or Western Australia to Western Sydney, tech jobs and tech businesses are growing everywhere.”

The NRF will be administered by an independent board with government setting its mandate to drive investment in key sectors, including resources, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, transport, medical science, and renewables and low emission technologies.

Up to $3 billion from the fund will be invested in green metals, clean energy component manufacturing, hydrogen electrolysers and fuel switching, and agricultural methane reduction and waste reduction to ensure a more resilient power sector.

Meanwhile $1 billion will be invested in advanced manufacturing, and a further $1 billion will be used to expand Australia’s mining science technology capability.

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